The mischeif maker
by Xafira Flame
Summary: Norse god returns from the dead etc. . .


THE MISCHIEF-MAKER   
  
The rain poured down forming curtains of solid water. She knew she was being stalked. The  
sensation of not being alone was everywhere and nowhere, but she wasn't scared . . . . she  
was ready!  
Suddenly out of the darkness leapt a figure. It lunged at her several times before it  
finally won. She fell to earth and in a matter of seconds all that was left was dust and a  
lone slayer standing in the rain.  
To be truthful, Buffy was quite bored, all right, she had had several vampires to deal with,  
but for the past month or so the was nothing that she really found challenging. Each day  
seemed to be just like the last and each morning Buffy found it harder and harder to get up.  
The one thing she wanted more than anything was a challenge and that was exactly what she was  
going to get.  
  
  
Not so far away, a lone follower of the Norse was forming a plan. It was his only way of  
saving himself from the mockery of the world. It would be dangerous and would no doubt end  
up in many deaths, but the world had been so cruel to him it deserves everything it will get!  
Surrounded by a fortress of books he was barely visible to the outside world. He was rather  
small any way, probably one of the reasons he was never taken seriously, but they would have  
to take him seriously now. No . . . not yet. He would have to wait for the night.  
  
"So, how's life in the world of Buffy?" Xander asked.  
"Not much," Buffy replied,"did some work, watched some T.V., killed some vampires, you know."  
"Pretty slow week then." Concluded Xander.  
"WEEK! More like month!" Corrected Buffy.  
"Well there's bound to be something coming up,' said Xander cheerfully, " and when it does,  
give me a call."  
  
Xander was right. There was something coming up, but what it was Giles just couldn't work out.  
It was something to do with someone called Heimdall, but there was nothing on him in any of his  
books. All there was was a single phase.  
  
He that slayeth Heimdall and he that Heimdall slain,  
Will be called from beyond the grave and will walk on earth again.  
  
The more Giles pondered about this, the more confused he was. He was beginning to think that it  
was just a medieval song and not the prophecy, that a lot of his books say it was, but that  
wasn't likely. He must be looking at the wrong kind of thing. In despair, Giles sat down. What  
ever this prophecy was about, it had to be big for it to be turned into a song. If only he had  
the original version, he might be able to find something from that.  
As he fumbled through the mountain of papers on his desk he found something he wasn't expecting  
to. It was a note from Spike. It read:-  
  
Giles,  
I have decided that I need a short break and since it's been rather quiet recently, I've gone to  
England to do some pot holing.  
I hope you can cope without me.  
Spike  
  
Well that was something weird! Spike on holiday! Giles thought that he would never see the day,  
but then again he did have a point. If there was a time to go on holiday it was now.  
  
Xander was worried. He didn't know what it was, but he was slowly becoming more and more  
paranoid. He was probably just being silly, but there was a feeling that he didn't like. This  
made him uneasy. He even started reading, just to stop him thinking about life. Something bad  
was going to happen, he knew it, but he decided not to tell the others, after all, there was  
nothing dangerous lurking that they knew of and there was Buffy and Giles to protect him. But  
this feeling of security was fading, he even started to be thankful that Spike was around, there  
was a slim chance that he would help. Eventually he decided that it would be safer at Giles  
house.  
"Hey! What's happening?"asked Xander when he entered Giles' apartment. As usual he didn't knock.  
"Oh!" said Giles quite surprised," I'm just doing some research."  
Xander began to feel more at ease.  
"Can I help?" He asked, wanting something to do.  
" . . . sure . . . ." said Giles uneasily.  
Why was Xander suddenly so keen to do research? This was very strange.  
"What's this?" Xander asked holding up Giles copy of the prophecy he was studying.  
"Oh, that." Said Giles, looking up "Just a prophecy I'm trying to work out. I'm not getting  
very far with it though."  
"I recognise that name." Said Xander.  
"YOU DO!" said Giles getting quite excited.  
"It was in a book I've been reading.Great Norse Battles I think it's called."  
This was strange! Xander reading of his own accord!  
"When did you start reading?" asked Giles.  
"When I broke the TV." Answered Xander.  
Now that made sense.  
"I don't suppose you know anything about him off hand, like who killed him and who he killed for  
example?" Asked Giles.  
"He was the gate keeper of Asgurd, if that's any help." Replied Xander.  
Giles felt stupid. Why oh why hadn't he thought of checking the Norse legends.  
Xander, however, was feeling quite pleased with himself. Out doing Giles in the personal research  
department, he wasn't just going to let this go.  
"I'm surprised that you didn't know that."  
Giles was beginning to get frustrated. He knew that Xander was going to milk this for all he  
could get. There was no point arguing with him.  
"Could you, by any chance, help me find out who did kill him and who he killed?" asked Giles,  
ignoring Xander's previous statement.  
Xander realised that he could use his limited source of information about the Norse as a major  
let's annoy Giles weapon.  
"They're probably the same person," answered Xander, "after all, Fenris killed Odin, Odin killed  
Fenris, Thor killed the sea monster and the sea monster killed Thor. There does seem to be a sort  
of pattern emerging."  
Giles just nodded. Something was coming and there was no time to waste playing silly games. He  
had to find who this person was.  
  
Xander was feeling better. All right he still had the feeling of impending doom, but it was now  
nly slightly stronger than normal. The thought of telling his friends about this incident made  
him continue.  
  
"Of course the type of book to look in would be about Ragnarok, that was when the majority of the  
Norse gods were killed."  
Giles already knew this and had located a book on the subject. It was quite a large book with no  
way of finding what he was looking for without reading the book from the beginning, but if it was  
going to be in any book, it would be in this one.  
  
The time was right. The believer was now wearing traditional Norse dress, including a Viking  
helmet (the type with the horns that are so often wrongly thought to have been the battle armour  
of the Norse. It was however mainly used for rituals like this one). He drew a large circle in  
the dirt he had thrown around the room in this dark, damp, block of unused apartments. Not  
exactly the perfect place to bring a god to, but it was the most quiet place he could find and  
large enough for his master to prepare for whatever he like without arousing suspicion. Now he  
started to chant in some language. The chanting started quite quiet and calm, but it grew louder  
and more excited with each breath. After what seemed like a lifetime of shouting the circle burst  
in to flames and there in the centre stood a man. He was quite tall and well built, but not like  
he worked out or anything. To the believers surprise he was wearing quite a smart business suit,  
but the moustache was exactly like the one he had seen so many times before, long, thin and  
twisted. He didn't look particularly dangerous, but he had evil in his face. The believer  
realised that he had made a big mistake as soon as he looked at this man, but there was nothing  
he could do now.  
  
Xander's bad feeling was coming back again. He tried not to think about it, but that made him  
think about it even more and in turn that made it worse. He could feel a great lapse of self-pity  
coming on. All he needed was . . . .  
"Hmmm." Said Giles in the all to recognisable way, which was always translated as"Oh dear." to  
put it nicely.  
"It's bad," started Xander,"I know it! The world is doomed! I'm dead! I don't want to die. I'm  
too young to die! I've never even seen War And Peace, let alone read it! I can't die without  
knowing what happens! I CAN'T! I NEED TO READ WAR AND PEACE! I'VE JUST GOT TO!!!"  
Buffy was rather amused by this scene. She had only caught the "I NEED TO READ WAR AND PEACE!  
I'VE JUST GOT TO!!!" bit and wished she had video proof of the event.  
"What did you say to start this?" asked Buffy.  
"I only said Hmmm." Replied Giles as if he had no idea why Xander was acting that way.  
"In that tone of voice, or the usual?" asked Buffy certain of the answer.  
Giles just sighed in realisation.  
"So what have you found?" asked Buffy.  
"Loki is going to be raised from the dead."Replied Giles.  
"Fine. I'll just wait around for a while and stake him!" replied Buffy as if it were as simple as  
tying her shoelaces.  
"Loki is the Norse fire god." Explained Giles at the obvious misunderstanding.  
Xander drew in a large breath.  
"Don't say a word!" said Buffy before he had the chance. She was not in the mood for another one  
of Xander's speeches, despite the fact the last one was so entertaining.  
"So, how do we get rid of him?"asked Buffy.  
"I don't really know."Replied Giles,"Last time another god killed him, but we don't have the sort  
of information we need to build a good strategy."  
Suddenly, it dawned on Xander. His feeling of impending doom was probably right!  
  
At last! Loki was finally out of that awful place. He couldn't wait to start living the high  
life. He had to kill someone! He hadn't done that for millennia. He glanced around the room until  
he saw the believer who had called him. Loki knew that it wasn't a very good way of showing his  
gratitude, but he had to make up for lost time. Without a word Loki put out his hand and out  
spurted a stream of flames. The believer didn't have time to be surprised. He was toast in a  
fraction of a second.  
  
Giles was a bit confused. According to his calculations Loki should have arrived on earth by now  
and if he had surely there would have been some sort of death and destruction? He sat there and  
looked out of the window. Then he saw it. A column of smoke was rising into the sky. It wouldn't  
have taken a genius to put two and two together. When a fire god comes to earth, what does he do?  
Set things on fire!  
"Come on!" he said to the others.  
"Where are we going?" asked Buffy.  
"To where Loki is!" was the reply.  
Buffy didn't have to wait long to see were Giles had gotten his information from. As soon as they  
stepped outside she saw the smoke illuminated by the flames below. The flames themselves could  
not be seen, but the fire must have been very fierce for the smoke to light up like that.  
It only took fifteen minute to get to the place. The fire brigade was already there. They were  
struggling with the fire, but it was slowly going out. Giles had to find out what happened, so he went up to the fire chief.  
"How did it start?" asked Giles.  
"Neighbours say they saw a fire ball," answered the fire officer,"it sounds like a gas explosion  
of some sort."  
That sealed it! This had to be the work of Loki. There was no doubt.  
It was obvious that this fire was going to go on for a very long time and so they would have to  
come back the following morning to see if there was any clue to where the deity might have gone.  
  
This was perfect! A bit damp perhaps and a bit smelly, but it was big and no one had been there  
for quite sometime. This was the perfect place to raise an army. After all these years Loki was  
finally going to get revenge. Finally he could prepare to march on Asgurd.  
  
The place was a wreck. Everything was black with soot and if it was ever slightly flammable it  
was now ash. Giles knew this had been the place. He also knew that the poor soul who they pulled  
out had to be the one who called Loki in the first place. This was not looking good. If there  
were any clues to where Loki had gone they were now cooked to cinders. The only thing they could  
do now was to try to work out what Loki's plan was.  
  
Xander was pacing backwards and forwards across Giles' living room so much that Giles was  
beginning to worry about his carpet. Xander was acting much more nervous than Giles had ever  
seen him before. Something was on his mind, but that had to wait. The problem at hand had to be  
dealt with.  
Now, Loki was the Norse fire god killed at Ragnarok by Heimdall. He had three children, Fenris  
the wolf (killed by Odin), The sea serpent that was wrapped around the centre of the earth  
(killed by Thor) and Hel the ruler of Hell. So the most likely thing for Loki to do is try to  
avenge himself and his children, but to do that he'd need an army. Then again he was in  
Sunnydale, the world centre of anything evil! Getting an army wouldn't be that hard for him. But  
when he had his army he'd need somewhere big enough to keep it in. That was it! Loki must be  
hiding in a big derelict building. There wasn't too many of them in Sunnydale. Things weren't  
going to be as hard as expected, but then again, when they find Loki, how were they going to kill  
him?  
  
Giles told the others about his theory. Buffy was desperate to go and kill this Loki, but Xander  
was getting more and more agitated. The more he heard about this fire god the more he felt like  
something bad was going to happen. He just wished that everyone would shut up.  
"We have to act quickly," continued Giles, "the longer we take to find and kill him the larger  
his army will be!"  
"I say we go looking now," said Buffy,"when we find him, we'll come up with a way of killing  
him."  
Xander was furious! Was he the only one who saw how foolish it was to go up against a god with no  
plan?  
"Are you mad?" shouted Xander;"You can't just come up with a plan off the top of your head to  
kill a god! You can't just stake him when he jumps out on you! If you go out there after him  
you're going to get killed!"  
"Normally I would agree with Xander's point," said Giles,"but we can't wait for Loki to take over  
this world and the others. We have to act now."  
Xander was about to say something, but he realised that nothing he could say would change their  
minds.  
"Well I'M not going with you!" he said.  
  
Pathetic! That was the only word that came to mind. It was a miserable group of vampires and  
demons. Twenty-eight in a whole day, Loki had expected at least five hundred. He was never going  
to get an army big enough to take on Asgurd at this rate. And who on earth is this slayer they're  
all going on about? How can one mortal kill such a large resource of soldiers with out being  
killed herself? Loki just had to meet this Buffy Summers. Surely he could dispose of her and when  
he did his army would become gigantic!  
  
Giles felt that Xander was hiding something from the rest of them. Why wouldn't he go with them  
and why was he being so sensible? It just didn't add up. But then again Giles could see why he  
didn't want to come. Every building they had been to was in a state and they had all been empty.  
This was taking a lot longer than Giles had expected.  
"I think it would be best if we split up." Giles told Buffy and Willow,"As soon as you find  
anything come and get me. Do not try to face him alone."  
So they went their separate ways in search of Loki, but Loki wasn't counting on going the night  
with out putting in an appearance. He was watching from the roof of a nearby building. Everything was going great. Now the slayer was all by herself and if he waited a while longer she will be out of the earshot of her companions.  
The more Loki watched this girl and looked into her mind he realised that he could have a lot of  
fun with this one before she would be killed, but first he had to capture her . . . .  
  
Where was Buffy? Giles and Willow had been back for about an hour and there was still no sign of  
the girl. At first they thought that she might of have to take care of a vampire or demon of some  
sort that she had bumped in to while she was searching for Loki, but the longer she took the more  
worried everyone got. Xander was pacing the floor again, but this time Giles had joined him. What  
was holding her up?  
  
Buffy didn't know what happened. One minute this bloke was standing in front of her the next she  
was in chains in some dingy, dank room. She did manage to piece together that it was Loki she had  
seen, but where was he now. She looked care fully at the chains. They were quite old and rusted  
and wouldn't need much to break them. She gave them a slight pull and the chain snapped. Then she  
went to the door. It was locked but was very easy to break down. Buffy ran through the door only  
to find herself back in the room she had started in. The broken down door was in front of her and  
only a brick wall behind. This puzzled Buffy. She ran through the door three times before she  
found herself in her own bedroom back a home. Buffy sat down to think a while. What was going on?  
How could she be here? Buffy heard her mom calling her from down stairs. Still confused Buffy  
went to see what her mother wanted.  
"Are you packed yet?" her mom asked.  
"Packed?" asked Buffy.  
"Didn't you even listen to what I said?" her mother shouted,"Well I'm not repeating myself! Get  
your stuff and get out! I can't stand living with you any longer!"  
"But . . ." started Buffy.  
"Just go." Said her mom.  
Buffy didn't know what to do, so she left. She'd have to go and see Giles to find out what was  
going on.  
As Buffy came nearer to Giles apartment she couldn't believe what she saw. Where the building  
once stood there was now only singed remains, much like the building she had seen last night,  
only it was obvious that this building was burnt to the ground a lot earlier.  
Buffy decided she must have banged her head and had gotten amnesia or something. Buffy had a  
feeling that all was not right. She wondered were Giles was, but something was already telling  
her that Giles didn't get away. She refused to believe it and decided to go to Xander's to see  
if he knew.  
  
"What are you doing here?" snapped Xander when he answered the door. There was a very strong  
smell of peppermint coming from Xander, which Buffy recognised as the odour Xander's uncle  
usually emitted.  
"Have you been at your uncle's schnapps?" asked Buffy.  
"What do you care?" replied Xander,"I can't believe you! Giving up your powers, letting Giles and  
Willow die and then coming round here like nothing has happened. I don't know what's going on  
inside that head of yours! I was nearly killed myself and you pretend everything's fine between  
us!"  
"Look Xander I haven't a clue what you're going on about!" said Buffy,"I can't remember anything  
since we went looking for Loki."  
"Oh don't give me that!" snapped Xander,"You can get out of here. I never want to see you again!"  
Buffy wondered whether it was the schnapps talking, but it was obvious that Xander wasn't quite  
drunk yet. Something big had happened. Something, which had left Buffy without a friend in the  
world, but what?  
Just then Spike came round the corner.  
"I hear you're having something of a dilemma." He said.  
"At last! Someone who believes me!" said Buffy.  
"Look,"started Spike, "I think you should know that you did the right thing."  
"Spike, what happened?" asked Buffy.  
"Well," started Spike, "to sum up, you killed Loki by giving up your powers as he left Giles flat  
blew up with him inside it. Your mother was appalled by the way you reacted to this tragedy and  
Xander's taken to drinking to get over Willow dying."  
"How did Willow die?" asked Buffy.  
"I killed her!" said Spike as he turned into his vampire form, "On a more personal note, while on  
holiday I got my ability to kill people back and I'm going to kill you."  
Buffy ran. It wasn't as easy as it usually was. Spike was hot on her tail, but she still managed  
to go over all that was happening.  
Then it hit her. This can't be real! She would never put her friends in danger. This had to be a  
trick!  
"I know this is you Loki!" she cried.  
Laughter filled the night.  
"Your reputation is not misplaced," It had to be Loki speaking,"but I can handle you!"  
Buffy didn't like the sound of that.   
Suddenly everything burst into flames. The flames subsided slightly and Buffy found herself  
standing in a ring of fire. Everything else was black. This was obviously not the real world.  
"Where am I?" asked Buffy.  
"Don't you recognise it." Said Loki jokingly,"This is your mind! Admitted I am controlling it,  
but that's no excuse."  
This Loki was beginning to seriously annoy Buffy he seemed so smug and arrogant, but he was dangerous.  
  
Giles knew what had happened. It was no only possible explanation. Loki must have got her. He and  
the others went out to look for her, but Giles feared the worse. Xander reckoned that this was  
it.The world was doomed unless they found Buffy so he'd better go out there and help.They  
searched all day, but there was no sign of Buffy. Giles recognised this as a good thing. If Loki  
had killed Buffy there surely would have been remains. Therefore Buffy must still be alive  
somewhere. Probably a prisoner of Loki, but still alive.  
  
Meanwhile Buffy was in a state. Loki had been playing with her mind all day and now she was  
certain that her mind was no longer her own.  
"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" she screamed and fell to the ground in despair. Loki laughed. He was loving  
every minute. No more. She wasn't going to play his game. She wasn't going to say a thing.  
  
Giles had commenced trying to find a way of killing Loki. He had to stop looking at what his  
books said he could do and start looking at what they didn't say he could do. Xander hadn't even  
turned up to help. After hours of reading Willow arrived from college.  
"Found anything?" she asked.  
"Possibly." Replied Giles, "There is no record of Loki having powers of telekinesis."  
"Tele what?" asked Willow.  
"It's the power of moving things using your mind." Explained Giles.  
"Oh! I can do that!" exclaimed Willow,"A bit anyway."  
"Well," began Giles,"If two objects are thrown at him at the same time he shouldn't be able to  
dodge them both."  
At that point Xander burst through the door.  
"If you're going after a god you should at least take this." He said as he threw a revolver down  
on to the desk,"It's my uncle's. He doesn't know I knew he had it."  
"I do appreciate the offer Xander," said Giles,"but I have a plan that should work and all we  
need is a spear each."  
"WHAT!" shouted Xander,"You're honestly thinking about going up against a god with only a couple  
spears! Well you can count me out!"  
"That's your decision,"said Giles,"but we're going to the buildings Buffy went to and try and  
find her!"  
  
Xander sat there stubbornly for about half an hour, glancing around the room, and then he saw it.  
A book lay open on the desk. There was a picture of Loki holding a staff and around him were  
several people, many of them dead, the rest in the process. Loki was holding the staff with two  
hands and spears were heading towards the men. There was no doubt (not even for Xander) Loki did  
have powers of telekinesis  
There was no time to waste. If Xander didn't get to Willow and Giles quickly they wouldn't stand  
a chance. He picked up the gun and ran out of the room.  
  
Spike was rather dazed when Xander ran past him in the street. He was about to say hello, but  
somehow he didn't manage it. He'd only been away a few days and suddenly he's forgotten!  
Something must be going on. Spike's curiosity got the better of him and he ran after Xander.  
  
"What's going on?" he asked when he finally caught up,  
"Fire God got Buffy . . . . Giles and Willow gonna die . . . . got to warn them!" was the garbled  
message he got as a reply.  
"I think I get the gist of it!" said Spike,"I'll come with you. Any chance of some violence?"  
"OH YES!" said Xander.  
  
Spike was getting confused. Was this Xander or an impostor? That was a very Xander like thought.  
Oh no! Their personalities were switching! That was another Xander like thought! That's it! No  
more thinking! That's a Xander thing to do, isn't it?  
  
Giles had a feeling, a bad one. The plan seemed fool proof, but something wasn't right, something  
just did not add up. Perhaps it was Xander. He seemed so certain that this wouldn't work, but  
then again he usually is certain that the plan won't work. They made their way into the final  
building cautiously, watching every corner expecting for trouble to jump out from every one.  
The building was dripping in stagnant water, the smell was quite overwhelming. A door slammed  
somewhere, they couldn't be sure were. The whole place was full of echoes. Whatever it was, it  
definitely wasn't Loki.  
But that was! Luckily he didn't seem to notice them. Giles nodded to Willow, who by now had moved  
to the other side of the room, and Willow nodded back. They were ready.  
  
Loki was ready. Any time now the two humans will throw their spears and he would hurl them  
straight back. He couldn't wait to see the looks on their faces before they died. This promised  
to be almost as much fun as tormenting the slayer!  
Giles got ready to throw his spear and Willow mimicked his actions. A smile slowly spread across  
Loki's face. Giles was just beginning to wonder, when Xander flew through the door. Time stood  
still for a moment. Xander held the gun at Loki. He knew what would happen if he pulled that  
trigger, he knew all too well, but a feeling suddenly possessed Xander. He didn't care about  
himself he had to save his friends.  
  
Giles was rather surprised to see that Xander had talked himself into coming; he was even more  
surprised when Xander pulled out the gun, but nothing could prepare him for what followed. Xander  
pulled the trigger. Loki was taken aback when Xander burst through the door, but now he had  
realised what was happening. As quickly as it had been fired, the bullet turned around.   
  
Xander's face said everything. He wasn't surprised, or angry, all right, he was in pain, but his  
face said something else. He looked up as he fell and smiled. He had warned them. Now they, at  
least, had a chance.  
  
Loki had had enough. He turned towards Willow. Giles stood up, only to find himself pinned to the  
wall, somehow. He didn't see how it happened, but suddenly, Loki was lying on the ground. He  
wasn't hurt, but he was worried. Something or someone had outsmarted him. He was gone in a matter  
of seconds.  
  
Giles was about to thank Spike for turning up when he did when Spike looked up at him. He didn't  
have to say anything; Giles could see what he was going to say in his eyes, but he said it  
anyway.  
"He's dead."  
Willow was astonished. How could anyone end a life long friendship by saying anything so simple? It couldn't be true. But it was and she knew it was. She started to cry silently.  
  
A bright light filled the room and there, standing in the centre of it was a girl in full Viking  
battle dress. She looked around sixteen, but stood as if she were royalty.  
Giles feared that this was a warrior that Loki had sent to finish them off, but then she spoke.  
"You are to come with me."  
"Where to?" asked Giles.  
"I am not speaking to you," She snapped,"only the heroic dead can go to Valhalla."  
  
Xander didn't know what was happening. He found himself looking at his lifeless body. He knew he  
was dead, but he just didn't seem the same. He wasn't worried or frightened; he just had this  
sense of duty to his friends. They needed him and that was the only thing that mattered.  
"I have to stay." He replied  
"You can not," stated the girl,"You must come. You are needed."  
"I have to help my friends!" he argued.  
"The way to help them is to come with me." Said the girl and she held out her hand revealing a  
circular mark on her palm. Xander didn't know why, but he felt as if he should do as she said.  
  
Giles realised that he had underestimated Xander's sense of loyalty by an awful lot. He was  
touched by the conversation, even though he could only hear half of it.  
As the girl held out her hand Giles saw Xander for a fraction of a second. He looked exactly as  
he had done just before he was shot. He managed to say one last thing before he disappeared and  
that touched even Spike.  
"I'm not leaving you." He whispered.  
  
Buffy was wondering if Loki was still tricking her or if he had, in fact, gone. She waited for  
about half an hour continuing her silent protest, before she decided that this was the real  
world.  
It took quite a lot of strength to break the ropes, but she did eventually break free.  
  
She made her way back to Giles' apartment slowly, weakened by her experience. She got to the door  
and knock. There was no answer, so she knocked again louder. Then she saw the blood on the  
carpet. Summoning up the last of her strength she broke down the door too see Giles, Willow and  
Spike all sitting around looking very upset. Giles looked up and forced a smile and said,  
"I'm glad to see you escaped by yourself, our rescue attempt fell through."  
As Buffy came further into the room she saw Xander's corpse lying on the floor. At first she  
thought that she was still a prisoner of Loki and that none of this was real, but Spike was  
there, and Loki wouldn't make a mistake like that. He'd know that Spike was away. This must be  
real.  
"FELL THROUGH! Fell through big time!" shouted Buffy,"How could you let this happen!"  
Spike lifted his head.  
"Don't blame Giles," He said,"he had no idea that Xander was even going to be there. Xander just  
got a fatal dose of loyalty."  
"Fatal! You can say that again!" continued Buffy.  
"He saved us," said Willow quietly. Since it all happened this was the first thing she had said,  
"we'd be dead now if he hadn't . . . ." Willow started to cry again.  
Buffy turned to Giles to get the full story.  
  
"I don't know what came over him!" He concluded."He has never acted like that! In fact he point  
blankly refused to leave the apartment only half an hour earlier."  
Buffy was speechless. She knew that this was all her fault, and if she had escaped sooner, then  
perhaps . . . .  
  
It was a very strange feeling that Xander had. He knew he was dead, but he just took it as a  
"that's life, or not, as the case may be," thing. He thought it strange how his personality had  
seemed to change totally. He thought it strange that he felt at home sitting here and drinking  
wine with a bunch of Vikings, but most of all, he thought it strange that this was supposed to  
help his friends. He was getting quite angry with himself for believing that girl in the first  
place.  
A horn sounded. The girl, that had brought Xander to this place, entered the room. The Vikings  
looked surprised.  
"Balder wishes to see the one known as Alexander." She announced.  
At last! He was going to see the boss. Perhaps now something was going to be done. As he stood up  
the Vikings all looked at the floor. This made Xander uneasy. Either they didn't want to look at  
him or they had a lot of respect for him. Xander couldn't tell which, but either way he wasn't  
too pleased.  
As he walked into the great throne room, it suddenly dawned on him that he wasn't going to see a  
man, but a god! This made his uneasiness grow. However, he stood firm and showed no fear when he  
walked up to the throne.  
"Alexander," said, who Xander presumed was Balder,"you wish to help your friends. You want to  
save them from Loki."  
Remembering his army training he decided to treat this god as a commanding officer.  
"Yes sir." He replied.  
"Well, we need your help as an expert." Continued Balder.  
Xander felt quite chuffed with himself, being called an expert, by a god! Now that would take  
some beating.  
"I am going to make you a general." Said Balder,"In two days time we march into the mortal world  
and defeat Loki before he has a chance to attack us. I want you to lead the attack."  
Suddenly this whole thing didn't sound so good. Xander didn't really like the idea of being at  
the front, with Loki there and his powers. He had already killed him once and that was pretty  
painful, he didn't want to have to go through all that again.  
"You will have your choice of weapons from the armoury." Finished Balder,"That is all."  
Xander didn't know what to think. He was slowly slipping back into his original personality and  
he started to fear that he would be killed. He knew it was daft; after all, he was already dead!  
  
The girl led him out and led him to the armoury.  
"So," said Xander, breaking the silence,"What's your name?"  
"I am Hild, leader of the Valkries."  
"And what's your job?" he asked.  
"I collect the heroic dead and bring them to Valhalla, where they prepare for war."  
"Pay well?"  
"Pay?!" exclaimed Hild,"I have a position of great honour! My honour is my pay!"  
"And my pay?" whimpered Xander.  
"You have a position of which no mortal has ever been offered!"shouted Hild,"You have the most  
honour that any human has ever had, but you don't show it!"  
"Me!" said Xander in surprise,"Honourable! Listen lady, you got the wrong man."  
"I have the power to see into a man's soul! You are mortal. Therefore I know how honourable you  
are and you do not!" Shouted Hild,"If you ignored your brain and thought through your heart you  
would be the greatest man on Earth!"  
"I would?" asked Xander quietly.  
"Yes." Replied Hild.  
"Thanks." Said Xander.  
"It is only the truth." Stated Hild,"You must realise that."  
Xander couldn't say anything. He disappeared into his own mind. What Hild had said would  
ertainly explain his recent behaviour, but was that a good thing? After all it did get him  
killed. Then he remembered that feeling. After he had been shot, and he had realised the others  
had a chance, he was truly happy. It was the happiest moment of his life and he would be willing  
to die a thousand deaths to have such a feeling again.  
  
Loki felt like a fool. Tricked by a mere vampire! One that doesn't kill humans at that! Loki was extremely angry, he wasn't certain who with, himself maybe? NO! He was a god. Whatever he did was perfect. It had to be that gang of misfits. Oh well. At least he got one of them and it wouldn't take long to get rid of the rest. But Loki was out raged that the slayer managed to escape. It's  
all down to that Vampire. He will have a slow and painful death.  
  
Giles didn't know what to do. He saw Xander after he was dead and he seemed quite . . . . well  
. . . . alive. He had also said that he wasn't leaving them, but did that mean he would be with  
them in spirit or was he coming back? Whatever he decided the body couldn't stay there. What if  
someone came to visit, or the police came to see if he knew where Xander had gone.  
Eventually, Giles decided that he was only wishing that Xander meant he was going to come back.  
It was getting close to dawn and Spike had left some time ago, but Willow and Buffy were still  
there. You wouldn't of known it. The only movement in the place was Giles pacing up and down.  
"We have to bury him," Said Giles,"before it gets light."  
Willow didn't move, but Buffy nodded in agreement.  
  
She was angry with herself. What she was going through now was what she deserved. After all if  
she had listened to Xander in the first place she wouldn't have gotten caught. He was the only  
person who hadn't under estimated Loki. But Buffy's guilt didn't stop at Xander's death. Willow  
wasn't going to be the same again. She and Xander were best friends since childhood; they were  
practically family to each other. How could she ever recover from losing someone so close to her?  
  
It was Giles who first came to his senses.  
"Loki's still out there." He said,"We can't just mope about here forever. He has to be dealt  
with."  
No body moved. It was obvious that no one felt much like fighting evil today, but it had to be  
done. Then Giles had an idea.  
"Are you going to let him get away with killing Xander?"  
This statement seemed to make everyone come to their senses, including Giles. Up to then he was  
silently blaming himself, but he had hidden this from the others, but what he had just said made  
him start to think. No matter whatever route of blame one could take it always ended with Loki.  
The sorrow in Giles' heart suddenly turned to anger, an emotion that Giles wasn't usually  
comfortable with, but this time it was different.  
Buffy noticed the change in Giles' face and realised that Giles knew exactly who to blame. Buffy  
saw what Giles meant and she began to feel better. Loki had better watch his back, because next  
time they meet it could only end in two ways.  
  
Loki was growing impatient. He finally decided that all life should end if it couldn't stick to  
his schedule.  
Finally he decided, enough was enough. It was time to prepare for war on the world.  
  
Giles, Buffy and Spike were collecting weapons by moonlight. Spike was quite enjoying the thought  
of the up and coming fight. He could do with some blood, guts and gore after all those dark,  
boring caves. (Don't get him wrong he would of loved to live in one of those caves, if it wasn't  
for the dampness and the never ending stream of visitors, but, it did end up feeling a lot like a  
holiday spent looking at water and rocks.) A bit of violence was just what the doctor ordered.  
  
Soon, Buffy was rummaging through a pile of weapons that was much bigger than she was. She would  
have loved to take the whole lot, but that was impractical. It took a long time. It must have  
taken over a day, because Spike had to leave and then he came back again. Sometimes Spike made  
Buffy want to laugh. He was acting exactly like a eight year old on Christmas eve, but whenever  
she smiled she remembered Loki and what he had done, and each time she grew more and more  
determined that he wasn't going to last the night.  
  
At last Loki was ready. He had a wide variety of demons and such like with him, not half as much  
as he wanted, but it was enough. When the mortals arrive he will be ready!  
  
Buffy knew exactly were to go. She knew he would be waiting, she knew that only one would  
survive, she knew the odds were against her, but she knew that Loki had killed her friend and  
that was enough.  
Sure enough Loki was still in the old building. Buffy had two plans. One was to sneak around  
until she was behind him and kill him, but, with much pleading from Spike, she decided that that  
was too pleasant a death. Her other plan was to storm in and challenge him to a one on one dual.  
Daft I know, but she was fuming.  
She flung the door open with all her strength and marched up to Loki.  
"I'm a little surprised to see you." Stated Loki,"You see," he said turning to his gang of  
demons,"I am irresistible."  
Buffy didn't even notice what he said. Fury was making her blood boil. Nothing he said would make  
any impact on his future.  
"I'm challenging you!" said Buffy.  
"You're challenging me!" replied Loki in shock,"Well that's different. You know you'll lose."  
"We'll see about that!" Snapped Buffy.  
With that Buffy went to throw a punch at Loki, but Loki just took hold of her hand and pulled it  
behind her back. It was awful. It suddenly dawned on Buffy that she was no match for this Fire  
God. Loki was forcing her to the ground.  
It didn't cease to amaze Loki, that this girl was so strong. It was harder to force her down than  
any man, but it wasn't difficult. He actually started to pity Buffy. Such a young girl with such  
a strong arm, she could have been a useful ally. Oh well, her loss.  
  
Buffy knew this was it. There was nothing she could do. She could hear a rush of wind behind her  
as Loki summond his power. Then there was a loud noise.  
Buffy looked up to see the biggest army that she had ever imagined standing in a circle of light  
and there leading them into battle was Xander.  
"OK," said Buffy to herself, "this wasn't in the plan."  
Loki was worried. He wasn't ready for this. His army wasn't half as big enough to take on Balder,  
but obviously Balder had realised this. There was still a chance that he could win, if he could  
just get a message out.  
Xander couldn't believe it. He had almost forgotten what being alive was like, but now he was  
alive once again he couldn't help, but feel slightly better about the whole thing. He was still  
a bit unsure about being a general though, especially now he was standing right in front of the  
deity that had already killed him once. Xander shook of this feeling of terror just in time.  
Loki was already to start fighting before the major gods turned up. He raised his arms to the sky  
and a fireball formed between his arms.  
"TO THE GROUND!" cried Xander as Loki threw the fireball at the men.  
The hoards of men behind him were rather bewildered by this strange order. What kind of  
dishonourable coward had Balder put in command?! However, he was their commanding officer and had  
to be obeyed.  
The army fell to the floor just in time. The fireball carried on going for a long distance before  
finally fizzling out.  
Buffy was astonished. She had never thought that Xander could think so quickly! And his voice  
carried so far and sounded so much in control. Death certainly had made more of a man out of him  
than life did!  
"CHARGE!" shouted Xander.  
Now this was the kind of order that the Vikings recognised! At last they would have their chance  
to fight honourably! The room was suddenly flooded with a vast ocean of fearless warriors armed  
to the teeth with swords, spears and several weapons that looked particularly unpleasant and you  
didn't really want to know what they were called.  
Spike was having a field day! This was so much better than he imagined. The small party which was  
bound to end up with the side he was on losing had suddenly turned to the blood bath of a war of  
which the majority of the soldiers were on his side! He found himself joining in without any  
thought necessary and he was soon covered head to toe in blood.  
Giles couldn't look. It seemed to him that this was very disorganised and he would probably end  
up being killed by someone on his own side. Never the less, he couldn't just stand there and do  
nothing.  
Very soon everyone was fighting. Willow had come out of herself at the sight of her old friend,  
apparently alive and well, and was now hitting anything that moved with anything she had a hold  
of.  
The whole scene was very weird. It looked like the Vikings had arrived to conquer the twenty  
first century, and there certainly were enough of them. Some Vikings had found themselves in a  
room were there were no one, but Vikings. These Vikings soon grew very tired of trying to all fit  
through the door at the same time and decided to break the wall down instead. It took some  
effort, but eventually it did fall crushing all who were underneath, who, by some miraculous  
fate, turned out to be mostly Loki's demons, who had decided to stand back and let those foolish  
Vikings crush each other to death.  
  
Loki was a bit lost. He was surrounded by people all fighting each other. The occasional Viking  
would stubble towards him with their weapons in the air, but they were easily taken care of.  
Then out of the crowd stepped a face Loki knew very well.  
"Hild!" said Loki as a greeting,"I see you're still fighting for Balder. Why didn't you join me  
when you had the chance?"  
"Because," replied Hild,"you are a snivelling, dishonourable, weak pathetic god, who smells like  
a mud-hole pigs won't go near because of the stench!"  
"You are getting better at the insults," remarked Loki,"but you're still several millennia behind  
the rest of the world."  
"I have no intent," said Hild,"to stand here throwing meaningless words at a being, that calls  
himself a god, but can obviously not use the washing facilities of this or any other time frame!"  
"Oh I've got to write some of these down! They're getting good!" said Loki in his usual sarcastic  
tone of voice.  
Hild didn't wait another second. She swung her sword at Loki with all her might and then managed  
to dodge the fire Loki through back at her, but with her second blow she wasn't so lucky. Loki  
took hold of her sword, but Hild refused to let go. With a great roar Loki lifted Hild off the  
floor by her sword and flung her against the floor. She had no chance. She was dead.  
Xander saw Hild flying through the air and he saw her land at his feet. He looked up at Loki wh  
stared right back at him and laughed. His first thought was to attack the god with whatever he  
had, but then he realised that he wasn't alone, he had a whole army in his command!  
Then Xander had the best idea of his life! Buffy would have the best chance of defeating Loki, if  
she could get at him when he wasn't looking. He had to create a distraction. The biggest  
distraction ever!  
"All right men!" He started,"I want a human pyramid now!"  
It was the first thing that came into his head. He didn't know why. The Vikings were even more  
bewildered. What in the name of Odin was a Human pyramid?  
Xander realised that they needed step-by-step instructions.  
"Some of you stand in a circle and then the rest climb onto each other's shoulders until there's  
one person standing on the top."  
Xander didn't know how, but somehow, a very unstable human pyramid was formed. Xander felt quite  
pleased with himself, but it wasn't working, Loki was looking the wrong way.  
  
Loki was confused. How come everyone was starring at him? He didn't have the foggiest idea. Then  
he realised they weren't looking at him. They were looking past him. He turned to see what the  
spectacle was and to his amazement there was a tower of Vikings swaying slightly. Now Loki was  
even more confused.  
So was Buffy, but when she saw the effect this acrobatics was having on Loki she knew what Xander  
was up to. However, Loki was still paying attention to everything around him. The distraction  
needed something else.  
Just then the pyramid started to shake much more violently than it was before. There wasn't  
anything anyone could have done to prevent the oncoming fate. The tower fell. Loki thought that  
this was hilarious! They were doing more damage to themselves than his army!  
Buffy looked around. That crash had definitely done it! Loki was in hysterics. She picked up an  
axe that one of the Vikings had dropped and threw it at Loki.  
Loki didn't have a clue what had happened. One minute he was laughing away, the next he was  
looking at the rest of his body.   
"I must have laughed my head off." Was his final thought, when the ground beneath him opened and  
the earth swallowed him up.  
Everything went quiet and the gateway between the two worlds closed.  
  
Everyone was overjoyed! Xander was back and quite alive. What was more, Xander had proved himself  
to be far braver than anyone could have imagined. Buffy, Giles and Willow were very proud of him.  
Even Spike found himself respecting Xander for his escapades.  
Everything had gone back to the way it should be. Loki was dead, Xander was alive and the gang  
was together again.  
  
However, Sunnydale had a new mystery. Were on earth had all these Swedish men in weird clothing  
come from?  



End file.
